Plagurism

Browsing away through other people's blogs I came across this review of the Honda Deauville 650: romanticbikes.blogspot.co.uk

Now I have no objection to being quoted, but for someone to 'copy and paste' your work and claim it as their own rattles my cage. Yes, I posted that review (and a longer one) and not one word has been changed on this, the shorter one, not even the pros and cons.

In a way I am grateful as it spreads the word, but I am in equal measure annoyed that I get no mention as the author / originator. Still, that's third world participation for you (I suppose).

Oxford Street shopping

Chaotic crowds rushing everywhere yet nowhere in particular, some weighed down with branded carrier bags with presents for someone in their life. We go up to the roof of John Lewis to see Monty the Penguin (nothing special) and the view over Oxford St. and London (very special) - but can you guess what they are selling from this rooftop wonderland besides hot chocolate and personalised Christmas cards with selfies on the front? No, well how about Christmas trees...? I couldn't believe it. Would anyone think of going up onto the roof of John Lewis to buy a Christmas tree? Ok, so you might but I wouldn't. Six floors down the escalator (or lift if you are prepared to wait 30 minutes) to then drag it through Oxford St and down onto the underground...

Ever dined at Wagamamas?

No, nor had I until Saturday afternoon, and I won't be repeating the exercise. Three of us had virtually finished our main courses before the 4th arrived. Yes, I know they said that all meals would not arrive at the same time but for 3 to arrive in under 5 minutes and then for the 4th to arrive 15 minutes later is stupid and disrespectful. Not as if the food is that good or anything special either.

Weekend travels

This weekend (just past) Suzie & I drove down to Staines where we stayed with Mark & Eleanor Saturday night after spending the day wandering around London. The aim had been to visit Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park but the place was so packed and badly organised that we gave up and went down to the south bank where there was a similar parallel event running which was much more accessible and enjoyable.

Motorcycle Live at NEC - our day out

Had a full day at the NEC Motorcycle Live event with my buddy Phil Swain. Shopping success in the form of a discounted helmet (still cost £290) but disappointment in failing to find a pair of waterproof trousers I liked.

Really pleased to have a chat with Motorcycle Adventure authors Graham Field and Sam Manicom on the Overland Magazine stand where I was given a bottle of Fuchs Motorcycle polish for simply turning up wearing one of their shirts - thanks guys (and gals). Other notables spotted as we walked round included Nick Sanders (RTW speedster), Nathan Millward (of postie bike fame) and Henry Cole (general whinger and Greatest Motorcycle Rides presenter).


Me on a Triumph Thruxton


Phil on a little Yamaha


Me on a not so little Yamaha - not much 'ball room' and needs larger fuel tank


Me on a Norton - rock hard seat/saddle


Phil on a Honda NC750 Integra - we both gave it the thumbs down but liked the NC750X


Phil loved this little number


Phil chatting up the totty on the Tomos moped stand


This is what Phil was chatting her up for, show reduced price to £999


Phil on a 250cc on the Herald stand - he's got to an age where he prefers light weight bikes

Had some problems with my camera so not many pics, but that didn't deter from a good "Big Boys Day Out", although the day ended expensively - I'd booked to have 2 new tyres fitted on the car so called in on the way home, 2 front wheels off for the fitting and inspection of the rears found them to be split right across the tread. Bugger - 4 new tyres lightened my wallet to the tone of £480 - I could have done without that!

Big boys day out

Early tomorrow I will be picking up my mate Phil and the two of us will be heading down to the NEC near Birmingham to the Motorcycle Live event.

A chance to see and sit on as many bikes as takes our fancy, see young ladies in brightly coloured tight fitting Lycra clothing, see if I can sort myself out a new helmet, maybe some waterproof trousers and winter gloves.

Also need to sort out Christmas pressies for son Mark (he's provided a shopping list).

Hopefully find time to meet some of the folks on the Overland stand - Graham Field, Sam Manicom, Paddy Tyson but sadly not Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent who was there at the weekend.

So we are both looking forward to a great 'Big Boys Day Out'.

A Short Ride in the Jungle

An update:
I have finished reading A Short Ride in the Jungle by Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent which turned out to be a surprisingly good read, and as I said in my earlier post, it was way better than I expected given her background and fancy name (proving that I should not judge an author by their name, I mean Zoe Cano... fabulous name and a very poor read (Boneville or Bust)).

Ant (Antonia) obviously has a bit of an obsession around the Indo-Asia wars from 1945 through to today focused on the senseless injustice of American involvement and the bombing that they inflicted upon the natives on the ground, and with the American failure to then clear up the UXO that is still there today claiming innocent lives. At times this fixation gets close to spoiling the storyline, but it always stops just short of that and ends up enhancing the reader experience. Personally I would have liked just a little bit more about her journey but I have to accept there is only so much you can write about bumping over rocks, grinding through mud or buzzing along a tarmac road while still keeping the reader's interest.

So if, like me, you are old enough to remember seeing the nightly BBC news broad casts coving the American war in Vietnam, then this book is both a reminder and an insight into what went on and is still going on today under the communist regime. If you are younger and have no idea what inhumane stupidity politicians can inflict on their countrymen and women and those in far off and distant places in order to line their own pockets then this has to be on your list of books to read. It is well researched (and by that I do not mean Google) and written from the heart, full of the author's passion for the subject, her experiences, observations and the emotions triggered at the time.

Kindle books on Samsung Note8

Life is sometimes strange and things go round in circles, let me confide...

30 years ago when I married Sue she would often complain that I had my head in a book which was something she rarely did. She would read magazines full of nonsense about 3rd grade celebrities and the soaps on UK terrestrial TV channels, but not books. Over time I started buying magazines, mostly motorcycle magazines but also car magazines - the difference being that her magazines cost but a few pence while mine cost a few pounds. As a result her got thrown away and mine got stored. Then she got into reading books, so now we have quite a collection of both paperbacks and magazines. Then she was introduced to the Kindle by a friend and she stopped buying magazines and paperbacks and locked herself into her Kindle.

then, earlier this year we treated each other to a Samsung Note8 and we both loaded the Kindle app. So now I can read on-line bike magazines and we both download books to suit our current tastes. Must say that I find the Kindle app (on Android) quite well sorted and easy to use. My reading is currently flavoured and focused on motorcycle adventure books, so here is the current lit that is stored on my Note:

Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon : My first Kindle book and much enjoyed, followed by
Dreaming of Jupiter by Ted Simon : Enjoyable if you have read Jupiter's Travels, otherwise it could be hard work
Rolling through the Isles by Ted Simon : A different take on motorcycle touring around the UK, enlightening all the same
Old Man on a Bike by Simon Gandolfi : Not a bad read for an old man (that is somebody older than me)
Old Men Can't Wait by Simon Gandolfi : Just as enjoyable as it's predecessor, it seems to envelop the reader more
Lois on the Loose by Lois Pryce : Her first book is mostly a light hearted read with a few serious bits thrown in, I enjoyed it
Red Tape and White Knuckles by Lois Pryce : Her 2nd book which builds on her first, is more polished and a cracking read
In Search of Greener Grass by Graham Field : His first book (I believe) and I really like the style of writing which I find similar to Lois's
Ureka by Graham Field : Like Lois (who I read first) his 2nd book builds on his first and is good reading
Bonneville - Go or Bust by Zoe Cano : Zoe drives her motorbike. Internet research linked by snippets of riding. Pretty poor read

Currently I am reading:
A Short Ride in the Jungle by Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent which is turning out better than expected given her background and fancy name. Only 23% read so far but the preparations and start of the journey were good and bode well for the rest of the book which, like the best above, are written from the heart, full of experiences, observations and emotions triggered at the time.

Still to read but already purchased:
Spirit of Adventure by Tom Morton
To Infinity and Beyond by Stephen E. Holmes
Motorcycle Therapy by Jeremy Kroeker
Into Africa by Sam Manicom

MoT time 2

October 8th was the date by which the MoT was due on mother's Seat Alhambra so I had it booked in for Friday 3rd at the Spondon MoT Centre that I have always used since moving to Derby in 1989. Thursday night I had a phone call from my son Andrew and in passing mentioned I had booked the Seat in for it's MoT upon which he says the screen wipers are nearly seized and need freeing off in order to pass the dreaded test. So Friday morning I collect the car from mother and set to in an attempt to free up the action which was obviously straining the wiper motor.

In short, I managed to free off the driver side and smashed up the passenger side mounting bracket - and cancelled the booking at the MoT test centre. Got the whole mechanism off the car, Andy took it into work and broke it some more before succeeding in freeing off the passenger side of the mechanism and welding all the broken bits back together as one. Saturday saw the two of us refitting the mechanism back in the car and a test booked for Friday 10th.

It passed, with 1 advisory which we will have to deal with in due course ready for next year's MoT test. Now all that is left is to insure and renew the road tax and that is it for another year. Happy or what?

MoT time 1

Saturday was a busy day, but most important on the day's 'to do list' was the annual visit to Smalley Cross Scooter Centre for the MoT check. This was the 9th such visit to SMSC since I rang them in a panic when I discovered that the Deauville I then owned had ran out its MoT and II needed to re-tax it that day. Mr C Hendry the MoT tester was there and ready for me even though I was 15 minutes early for my appointment, and as has become customary, I was allowed to assist when it came to flicking switches and moving the bike around and stood back out of the way drinking the mug of tea kindly provided by one of the younger staff members. The tally of miles since the last inspection was just over 5,250 since the previous visit so there was always that doubt at the back of my mind.

The end result... a pass, with no advisories suitably reflecting my care and maintenance regime and allowing the bike to be used out there on the Queen's highways and byways. Magic!

Excited

Anticipation... sometimes nervous, sometimes exciting. This time around it is the later as tomorrow afternoon I take delivery of the blue Mazda6 saloon pictured in the previous post.

That will give me a week to adjust to it ahead of a weekend trip to West Mersea, departing next Thursday evening to stay with Suzie's aunt and uncle, taking them to the Clacton-on-Sea air show and visiting some old friends in the area, maybe some family too depending on what they are up to.

Can't wait!

Busy times

Blimey, my last post was back in June and here we are in the middle of August. No excuses, we have just been very busy. So whar has been going on?

The back garden was full of established (read 25 year old) shrubs, bushes and Leylandi. Well they have all gone bar the dwarf Cherry tree and a Wygelia bush.


Slabs removes and hardcore rolled in gets transformed...

We had the old slabs that fulfilled the role of patio taken up, along with part of the lower lawn and textured / coloured concrete laid. That had meant a lot of time doing some creative gardening with a raised flower bed and seeding grass. In turn that has meant several trips to DIY centres and garden centres to purchase appropriate materials and flowers/plants. It is starting to look good now, though there is still a final phase to be done which includes laying slabs as a base for a new shed (12' × 8') then buying and erecting that in time for the guys from BestCrete to come back and play the path to the shed joining it to the patio bit they've already done.


Into this patio with raised flowerbeds.

Then mother has had a 'cataract' operation on each eye in turn so that she no longer needs contact lenses. She has had the all clear on the left eye and hopefully will get the same on the right in 10 days time.

I have had a recurrence of my hip/back problems that are the result of a motorbike accident I had 37 years ago, so I have been under a physio for the last 5 weeks - on going.

Thankfully, but also worryingly, my work has been slack. No redundancy this time though and starting this week I am back to working 3 days a week on client site. Just as well because the little Volvo is showing signs of needing major expenditure over and above it's value, so yesterday I put down the deposit on a Mazda6 which I pick up later this week.


Volvo - soon on its way to a new home...


Soon to be mine - Mazda6 saloon 2.5 litre petrol engine...

Of course there has been loads of other stuff, like last weekend when Suzie and I drove down to Staines and put in the skirting board and laminate flooring in the hallway of Mark and Eleanor's home. Hopefully it will give them a much needed boost to get on with other work that needs doing.


From ancient bare floor boards to this in 1 weekend - not a bad effort.

So, I failed to find time to update the blog, but that has now been rectified, and there is more to come...

Yet more American muscle

Thought you might like a few more pictures of American motors taken during our trip to Georgia USA back in March...


Corvette


Another older Corvette.


Another older Corvette.


Real muscle from 1957.


Modern muscle car, a newer model year Firebird.


Made in Ireland, the DeLorean.

The Tallahassee Automobile Museum was where we found this lovely example of American motors was a treasure trove of all kinds of collectables, golf clubs, Bat Man memorabilia including Bat Mobiles and the caped crusader's motorbike. A number of motorbikes, motorboats, outboard motors, guns large and small to name a few of the displays. Well worth a visit.

Thundersprint 2014

My friends Phil & Dave went to Thundersprint 2014 and sent me a few photos that I thought I'd share them...


Remember these? BSA Bantam.


Yamaha RD400.


More BSAs.


Ready to race.

More motors from USA

Thought you might like it if I shared a few more automobile pictures taken during our trip to Georgia USA back in March...


Shame about the rope in the foreground, otherwise a nice Ford GT40.


A brace Ford GT40s.


Remember the Prowler?


Real muscle, Pontiac GTO.


More muscle - Firebird.


More muscle - another Firebird.


Smokey and The Bandit, anyone?


One outrageous Stingray


Same Stingray from another angle

Europe votes - Oh dear...

The votes are in and counted and now come the complaints about UKIP being the biggest winners in the UK. So whats my position on this?

Well, if you didn't want UKIP to win then you should have voted. Apathy is the biggest problem with politics. Overall UK turnout was 33.8%, down slightly on last time which means that roughly 66% or 2/3rds of all people eligible to vote just didn't bother. I am reminded of the favourite quotation: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" - Edmund Burke

It is no good whingeing that you don't like the result if you couldn't be arsed to join in and cast your vote. However, if you did vote, well done, but the party you voted for hasn't managed to enthuse and motivate its supporters, so go chasing them get them voting and get us out of this mess.

For a party with just 2 policies - (1) get the UK out of Europe's farcical membership of the EEC, and (2) Curb immigration from within the EEC - this glorious result, but why did 27.5% of all those that voted put their cross against UKIP? The two main parties (Conservatives and Labour, just in case you are out of touch or unsure) spent most of their campaigning verbally lambasting UKIP. The public love an underdog, and if 2 big boys gang up on a little 'man in the street' guy then he is the one that will get their vote. UKIP didn't need to campaign, Cameron and Miliband did it for them.

Then there's the unrelenting release of statistical information from Westminster (via the Office for National Statistics or whatever they are calling themselves today) to show that government policies are working, immigration is coming down. Except, that at the end of the quarterly review all the earlier releases were a pack of lies and everything is still going to hell in a hand cart, the government cannot meet its own (too high) targets and nothing that Eric Pickles (Chief Liar on behalf of one Mr D Cameron) can say or do will change that this year or any subsequent years.

Then, as the BBC's Gavin Hewitt reports:
"The people have spoken loud and clear," a triumphant Marine Le Pen told cheering supporters at National Front (FN) party headquarters in Paris. "They no longer want to be led by those outside our borders, by EU commissioners and technocrats who are unelected. They want to be protected from globalisation and take back the reins of their destiny."

I could not have put it better myself.

And then there was the Lib Dems and Nick Clegg who got into the coalition with David Cameron on the back of his promising at the last election to oppose any increase in tuition fees, then in September 2012 he apologised, saying: "We made a pledge, we did not stick to it, and for that I am sorry." Well he will be sorry now as he and his party are no longer the 3rd party in UK politics - students don't support broken promises.

There are so many other reasons why I can think that people voted UKIP. The biggest upset in UK politics since 19010 - let us just hope something good comes of last week's voting.

Historic Cars USA

Sunday morning 23rd March we were in Georgia with my sister's youngest Nate driving us round meeting family including Simeon, known locally as SM. On the way back on the highway to Twin Lakes I spotted a local historic car meet in Dasher. Nate pulled over and turned round so here are the pictures...


A nice clean little T-bucket hot rod.


T-bucket engine.


The interior.


The T-bucket from the front.


Behind the T-bucket the owners lounge in a gazebo.


My sister looking in at the interior - I can't remember what it is.


Same motor, different view.


From the other side.


From the other side with sister behind.


Cobra Mustang - well someone has to love them.


A nice 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air.


Again from another angle.


The Bel Air interior - a shame about the furry dice.


I have to admit to a having a bit of a soft spot for these Jeeps, especially in as good condition as this one.


Old police car.


This Buick was gorgeous.


So I just had to get into the picture.


The wooden bed in the back of this pick-up was superb.


Just as clean under the hood.

Not many cars but so obviously a local meeting of friends of a like mind with a few lovely cars. I am so glad Nate turned around for us.